The Left Guardian grimaced.

"It's usually just called a sacred relic. How did you learn its name—the Heavenly Pearl?"

I smirked.

"You think I spent three days just running? I ate, took a shit, recited poetry, tortured one of your men, even went on a boat ride. A very productive time."

The Left Guardian turned to glare at his subordinates.

"You couldn't even withstand a little torture?"

"Your men should at least know what they’re protecting. But they didn’t. And I, for one, would like to know before I die."

The Left Guardian’s voice lowered.

"Crazy Demon, that is a special elixir, crafted solely for our Master’s consumption. Anyone else who takes it… their body will melt. Do not even think about it. It was hard to create, which is why we must retrieve it."

"Spare me that crap. Do I look like some naive noble lady? Do I seem like one of those women obsessed with pretty boys? You damn pervert."

"You won’t believe me even if I tell the truth, huh? Our Master is meant to consume it, which is why it’s called a sacred relic. That is the simple fact."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Something’s off. If this was just some elixir, your Master would have taken it before entering seclusion, no?"

"There are reasons. The process of martial cultivation must follow a specific order."

"How was it made? It doesn’t seem like a naturally occurring elixir—it reeks of demonic arts."

"If I tell you, will you return it?"

Instead of answering, I studied his expression.

"No."

I already had a general idea of how it was made.

The Demonic Cult’s past atrocities weren’t exactly a secret.

Even now, the Heavenly Pearl’s color was shifting, as if forces of extreme yin and yang were constantly clashing within it. Depending on the temperature and the sunlight, its hue continued to change.

If I had to describe it, it resembled a taiji symbol.

Or rather, in demonic terms, an inverse taiji.

An elixir that contained taiji itself? That meant it was no ordinary concoction.

If it ended up in the Master’s hands, it wouldn’t be surprising if it led to the end of Jianghu.

‘Damn it… The Martial Alliance should really give me an award for this. Bastards.’

I laid out my theory.

"Ah, I get it now. I must be a genius. Let me guess—you attacked sects, waged wars against groups like the Martial Alliance, all for this thing. I don’t know the exact method, but you extracted the very essence of living martial artists and infused it into this pearl. It must have been a painstaking process to extract both extreme yin and extreme yang energy and combine them in balance."

As I spoke, I realized the Master’s true intention.

"To fully utilize this, the user must either be born with the Yin-Yang Constitution or have balanced their internal energy through cultivation. That’s why the Master went into seclusion, isn’t it? Am I wrong? Or is he planning to use it for a body transformation technique?"

It would be most effective if consumed in a new body.

The Left Guardian listened with a slight smile.

"This bastard… I thought you were just a reckless madman."

"I appreciate the compliment."

"Believe whatever you want. Even if you know the truth, it won’t save your life."

"True."

"You don’t have a Yin-Yang Constitution. Hand it over."

"If your Master takes this, there won’t be a single person in the world who can challenge him. He’s already absurdly strong—how much stronger does he need to get? I can’t give it back. This is the path I walk as a lone swordsman."

I said it jokingly, but the Left Guardian didn’t laugh.

"……"

This was why I could never get along with the Demonic Cult.

The Left Guardian kept staring at me.

He was afraid that if we fought, I’d simply throw myself off the cliff.

To be fair, even I wasn’t thrilled about falling into the abyss.

Who in their right mind would want to jump off a cliff unless they were guaranteed some hidden treasure waiting below?

That meant I had only one move left—the action that would piss him off the most.

Given my injuries, I didn't have much of a choice.

I swallowed the Heavenly Pearl.

Gulp.

The Left Guardian’s face turned deathly pale.

I smacked my lips, savoring the flavor.

"Unexpectedly sweet. Tastes like a smooth peach at first, then leaves a fresh aftertaste. Did they mix in peaches to make it easier for the old man to swallow? Hahaha!"

The cultists’ eyes bulged. Some looked like they were about to faint.

The Left Guardian pointed at me, stuttering.

"Y-You actually ate it?"

I feigned seriousness.

"You called it an elixir, you idiot. Elixirs are good for the body. May your Master’s wrath fall upon you. Don’t worry—your subordinates will report everything exactly as they saw it. Or you could kill them all yourself."

The Left Guardian stomped his foot in rage.

"You lunatic! That thing—!"

I deliberately acted dense.

"Should I have saved it for your Master instead? Oops. Too late—it’s already in my stomach. Burp."

Something felt… strange.

I had joked about the taste, but it really did taste like peach.

And my body—my dantian—felt off.

A sharp pain shot through my core.

I frowned and placed a hand on my abdomen.

Within moments, my dantian split into two distinct sections—one of pure yang, the other of yin.

To the cultists, my face must have looked even paler than before.

It was a bizarre sensation, but it wasn’t unbearably painful. If anything, it confirmed that the relic was truly something extraordinary.

The Left Guardian clenched his jaw.

"Kill him! No—capture him! We’ll grind him up and present him to the Master!"

"Yes, sir!"

I raised a hand, as if I had something to say.

"Wait a second! Before we fight, I… I think I need to—"

The Left Guardian raised his hand, signaling his men to stop.

"Hold."

Silence.

I looked at him with grave seriousness.

"My dantian…"

"What about it?"

"It feels… hot. Then cold. Then hot again. Which means… I need to take a massive shit."

A loud thunderclap echoed through the valley.

Except it wasn’t thunder.

This °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The Demonic Cultists gagged and covered their noses.

"……"

The Left Guardian also pinched his nose.

"Just spit it out already!"

I did the same.

"Quit whining. I never said I was going to spit it out that way. I meant I need to, well… relieve myself. So, if you don’t mind, I’ll be needing some privacy. Please, leave."

"What?"

As the Left Guardian’s face paled further, I spoke in a detached tone.

"Tell your Master I’m sorry. He should come here later and inspect my shit. Maybe he’ll find the secret to becoming the strongest under the heavens. After all, the greatest Mad Demon in history has now taken the greatest shit of all time. Truly legendary."

The Left Guardian, who had been listening seriously, suddenly snapped.

He hurled a massive energy blast at me.

‘Not a chance!’

I countered with my own attack—Golden Tortoise Wandering Technique—and our two forces collided midair.

BOOOOOOM!

The Left Guardian was blasted back.

Unfortunately, so was I—straight off the cliff.

‘Oh, shit.’

Falling off the cliff hadn’t been part of my plan.

Life doesn’t always go as planned.

But even as I plummeted, seeing the furious Demonic Cult growing smaller in the distance, I couldn’t help but laugh hysterically.

"WAHAHAHAHA!"

My laughter echoed through the abyss, filling the heavens and earth.

Maybe it was the Heavenly Pearl’s peach flavor.

Or maybe I was just having the time of my life.

Either way…

This was one deep-ass cliff.

Even after laughing for a while, I was still falling.

***

Both of my legs were fine, and despite my exhaustion, my dantian was now brimming with the strange energy of the Heavenly Pearl.

Not exactly what I had planned.

Just before hitting the ground, I executed Mad Wind Laughing Step, dispersing the impact of my fall. Twisting my body three and a half times mid-air, I landed lightly on both feet.

A near-perfect landing.

“Heh… hehehe.”

Out of curiosity, I looked up.

Not only the Left Guardian, but even the low-ranking grunts—the ones who would definitely die from such a fall—were hurling themselves off the cliff without hesitation.

They were my enemies, sure, but I had to admit—their sheer obedience was impressive. I found myself clapping instinctively.

“Wow… You crazy bastards.”

If nothing else, this was proof of why the Demonic Cult was so feared.

One order, and they leaped to their deaths without a second thought. No wonder the Martial Alliance had never managed to wipe them out.

“Half of them are gonna end up as shattered corpses.”

And sure enough—screams filled the air.

One after another, cultists slammed into rocky outcrops, their bodies crumpling instantly. The more fortunate ones merely broke their limbs.

Watching this senseless slaughter, I finally understood the Left Guardian’s words—

"No one in Jianghu is unafraid of the Master."

The Demonic Cult was terrifying.

Of course, they called themselves the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

And then—

The sky, the cliffs, everything vanished.

The entire world was suddenly pure white.

“Huh?”

What the hell?

Everything in my field of vision—completely blanketed in white.

Floating in midair, silhouetted by an unearthly radiance, was a lone figure. His face was obscured by the overwhelming light that radiated from him.

I had never seen anything like this.

I had never felt anything like this.

And I had never been this shocked in my life.

What… the hell… is that?

A chilling realization crept up my spine.

I knew, instinctively—

My life and death were in that man's hands.

***

Amazingly, even the sound of the wind had vanished.

It was as if the world had come to a sudden halt.

In the midst of this eerie silence, the unidentified man descended slowly, his hands still clasped behind his back.

What kind of martial art is this?

The fact that a man could fall from such a height without breaking form was shocking in itself.

I quickly glanced around.

The bottom of Manjang Gorge was now entirely white, as if reality itself had been erased.

And in the midst of it all, this overwhelming figure approached me, still keeping his hands behind his back, and spoke.

"You swallowed an object infused with spirits so easily… You truly are a madman."

The moment I heard his voice, a shiver ran down my spine.

It wasn’t just confidence. It wasn’t just arrogance. It was the voice of someone who had seen everything there was to see—someone whose mere presence distorted reality itself.

This man was on a completely different level.

I asked, "Madman, I’ll admit. But who the hell are you?"

Now that he was closer, I finally got a better look at him.

His attire resembled that of a martial artist, much like mine, but it was severely outdated—as if he had stepped straight out of an ancient painting.

Even the greatest martial artists of our time would struggle to keep their composure in front of a man like this.

I knew the names and faces of every legendary warrior in Jianghu, yet I had never heard of this man.

I spoke my mind.

"You… You really are something else."

For the first time in my life, I had genuinely praised someone.

It wasn’t just about his martial prowess—it was the sheer mystery of his existence that fascinated me.

The man, however, simply responded with an indifferent expression.

"I suppose I am. And you—you're holding up surprisingly well. Impressive. But tell me, why did you swallow the Heavenly Pearl? That thing is filled with the spirits of countless masters. They remain trapped, unable to pass on. Do you understand what that means?"

"Do I look like an idiot to you?"

The man stroked his chin, seemingly contemplating something before he continued.

"From now on, their spirits will cling to you like parasites. When you sleep, they will whisper. When you eat, they will drain the life from your food. When you touch another person, they will latch onto them as well. Your inner energy will spiral out of control, beyond what you can handle."

I filtered out everything he said and focused on the part I liked.

"Oh? More inner energy? That sounds good."

The man wasn’t finished.

"You are now a living Heavenly Pearl. Half-human, half-ghost. There is no future where you live a normal life anymore."

I simply shrugged.

"I never lived normally to begin with."

He observed me, then nodded.

"I can tell. You’ve gone through internal deviation multiple times, haven’t you?"

"How did you know?"

"Look in the mirror when you get the chance. Your eyes aren’t normal… Internal deviation isn’t just a physical condition—it leaves mental scars as well."

I smirked.

"Alright then. But what if, instead of me, that old bastard Cult Leader had swallowed this thing? I didn’t eat it for fun—I ate it to stop him."

At that, the man let out a grin.

"So you ate it out of the kindness of your heart?"

"That’s right."

It was the truth.

And I could tell that this man could see through lies.

He sighed.

"I see… The Heavenly Pearl defies the natural order. Had the Cult Leader taken it, I would have erased him from existence, then accepted my punishment for interfering in mortal affairs. But as always, life is unpredictable."

The world truly was terrifying.

Even a being like this hadn’t foreseen this outcome.

His voice carried on.

"Even so, those spirits must be freed. They must pass on so their fates can be judged. There are many among them who lived honorable lives. It must be done."

I narrowed my eyes.

"And what do you want me to do? Sounds an awful lot like you’re telling me to just hurry up and die. Not happening. If I’m going to die, I’d rather you drop me in front of the Cult Leader. Let me take him down with me. Only then will I be satisfied."

The man chuckled, shaking his head.

"Don’t try to scheme against me."

"Damn. You caught on?"

He crossed his arms.

"You really hate the Cult Leader that much?"

"Do I even need to explain?"

"Why?"

"Why? Because that bastard doesn’t see people as people."

I raised one finger.

And before I could even say it, the man spoke for me.

"Because he doesn't see people as people?"

I met his gaze and nodded.

"That’s right. That’s the only reason I ever needed."

The man crossed his arms, then let out a small smile.

"Good reason."

I stared at him.

Did he just agree with me?

This guy was strange.

And for some reason, I felt like I could actually talk to him.

A ridiculous thought crossed my mind.

Maybe… maybe this guy is something close to a god.

The man uncrossed his arms, exhaled as if he had made up his mind, then pointed a finger at me.

"Yi Zaha."

My eyes widened.

"He knows my name?"

His voice continued.

"This is your final lifeline. Never swallow another Heavenly Pearl. I won’t be able to help you next time—I have my own punishment to bear. But regardless of what happens… I will treat you with goodwill. That is my choice, and the greatest gift I can offer you. I bless you."

He reached out toward me.

For a moment, I panicked—wondering if this blessing was just a fancy way of saying instant death.

But given the circumstances, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Before I could say anything, brilliant light erupted from his hand, engulfing me completely.

"Huh?"

Everything faded.

My senses—gone.

…

…

…

Was I dead?

I felt like my entire body was shattering into pieces—

Yet… there was no pain.

Just before I lost consciousness, something stirred deep inside my soul.

It whispered.

I don’t want to die yet.

Damn it…

I’ve never even—

With a beautiful woman—

Shit—!